


12 Days of SamBenny Christmas

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas Themes, Cold, Gift Giving, M/M, Mistletoe, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-08 14:03:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8847877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: 12 Days of Christmas Writing ChallengeAll fics are standalone and tagged.Fics will be crossposted to my Tumblr: @rodiniaorzetalthepenquin





	1. Day 1: Wreaths and Fuzzy Socks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags: fluffiest fluff

Benny was a vampire. His feet didn’t even get cold. So when Sam gave him the fuzzy socks, Benny just looked at him strangely. He took them, of course. And put them on immediately. He’d never hurt Sam by refusing a present.

He had to admit, they were really freaking cute. They were designed to look like puppies, complete with the puppy dog eyes and floppy ears. Much like Sam himself.

He forgot about the socks when Dean started yelling for him. When he got to the Impala, he whistled. “That’s… that is a lot of evergreen, brother. What are you doing?”

“What, Sam hasn’t hit you with the whole ‘this is our first Christmas as a family and we should do it right’? We are apparently making Christmas decorations. Sam wants to make wreaths.”

Benny laughed softly. That figured. “Sorry, this may be my fault. He asked me about celebratin’ Christmas, back before my first trip to Purgatory, and what we did then. Shoulda realized he’d do somethin’ like this.”

“See, now if he’d pitched it to me like that, he could’ve saved himself ten minutes of arguing. Instead of trying to sell me on the whole we missed out on so much as kids and now that we’re settling down we should start trying to make up for it.” Dean gathered up an armful of branches. “Come on, help me haul these in.”

“Yeah.” Benny scooped up an armful himself and followed Dean to the library. Sam was there with a pot of hot chocolate, floral wire, round bases for the wreaths, springs of berries, and of course his laptop open to instructions for how to make a wreath. “Y’know, this isn’t exactly how we did it back in the day, Sam.”

“Maybe not, but you would’ve if you’d had internet.” Sam took a seat at a table with a base and started figuring out how to attach the branches.

It wasn’t too much longer before Dean and Benny joined him. Benny had a bit of a head start, having done this before, so he let the boys flounder while he poured them all mugs of hot chocolate. And, of course, before he sat down, he had to kiss the chocolate mustache Sam had developed off his face. Much to Dean’s vocal annoyance.

Once they finally got the hang of it, Benny felt something soft sliding up his shin. He looked under the table, and… oh. That’s what the fuzzy socks were for! Benny moved his other foot so that it covered the foot Sam still had on the ground and wiggled his toes.


	2. Day 2: Patterned Pajamas and Cold Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lucifer, there are some nights when Sam can't touch Benny. Benny's too cold.
> 
> Benny finds a solution just in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags: bed sharing

As long as he stayed in the Bunker, Benny found that he could be active during the day and sleep at night. Sleeping at night was weird for vampires, but on the other hand, it did mean that he could sleep beside Sam.

For the most part, that was great. But there were some nights when Sam could barely stand to touch Benny. “I’m sorry. Benny, I swear, it’s not you. It’s… I just…” Sam curled up tighter on himself. “It’s Lucifer. He burned cold. Literally, sometimes. I wish I had a better idea what triggers these flashbacks, these moments when I can’t deal with anything cold, so I could learn to avoid them. I’ve been looking for patterns, but I can’t find any. Yet.”

“And I’m cold. I get it, Sam. Don’t worry about it.” He did get it, now. He’d talked to Dean and Cas about it, hoping they might have an idea. Neither of them could think of anything useful.

But one day, when Benny was out looking for Christmas presents, he got an idea.

Just in time, too. The Bunker had its own generator, so it was almost never completely without power, but there were days when the power went out and the generator focused on the important things first. Security. Lights. Heat wasn’t too high on the priority list.

Cas handed Benny a pot of coffee. “Grace-warmed. It won’t cool off. For Sam.”

“Thanks. Much obliged.” Benny took the pot and got his surprise and headed for the bedroom.

Sam was already there, wrapped up in blankets. He smiled at Benny, but there was sadness in it. “Hey. Um. I know you want to help…”

“Give me some credit, Sam. Not just gonna get in there with you. Got a plan.” Benny winked and poured Sam some coffee. “Cas sent help, too.”

“Nice of him.” Sam took a sip. The coffee distracted him long enough for Benny to change. When the mug was empty and Sam was looking for more, Benny was ready.

The pajamas were ridiculous-looking. Fuzzy and green printed with the brightest red Santas and golden bells imaginable. But they covered Benny completely, except for his head and hands, and Benny had found some green gloves that matched. “Won’t be perfect, probably look a little silly in July, but at least I might can hold you when you’re havin’ one of these days.”  
Sam’s face lit up like actual sunshine as Benny poured him some more coffee. As soon as Benny got in bed, Sam was snuggled up to him, head resting carefully on Benny’s chest. “This is great. Not perfect, but so much better than having to push you away.”

“That’s what I thought.” Benny caught himself before kissing Sam’s hair, settling for running a gloved hand over his cheek instead. “Love you, Sam.”

“Love you too, Benny.” Sam closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.


	3. Day 3: Scarves and Christmas Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benny's part of the family. Dean and Cas see him as a brother. Sam's trying, but he just can't.
> 
> Shortly before Christmas, he figures out why.
> 
> Tags: Christmas, gift exchange, snowfall, Christmas cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to under_a_grey_cloud, who beta read this one for me!

Benny had moved into the Bunker in the spring. Back then, Sam put up with him. Tolerated him for Dean and Cas’s sakes. Over the summer, as Sam actually spent some time around Benny, he started seeing what Dean and Cas had seen in Purgatory, the good heart under the monster’s skin. One fall day, after patching Sam up from his latest injury, Benny had patted his knee. “You ought to take better care of yourself, brother.”

“Yeah, I… wait. What?”

“You should… oh. Sorry, Sam. Just gettin’ a little hard to remember I’m just a friend to you. Specially when Dean and Cas are hauling you back in pieces.” Benny started putting up the first aid supplies. “I’m a friend now, at least?”

“Yeah, Benny. You’re…” Sam didn’t know why it caught in his throat, telling Benny that it was okay to call him brother, but it did. “I’m glad you’re here. This family wouldn’t be complete without you.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Benny took off.

It was December now, and Sam was still trying to figure out why Benny made him act weird. Dean had even noticed, and grabbed Sam for a word. “Thought you were over your Benny thing.”

“I thought I was too!” Sam looked back toward the kitchen, which Benny had kicked everyone out of with the announcement that it was his until after supper the next day. “Dean, I don’t know what’s going on. He’s family. He belongs here, and the thought of him leaving is terrible – especially since I know that if he leaves, it’ll be because of me.”

“If he’s family, why don’t you let him call you brother? He told me he’s slipped up a couple times, and you get even weirder than usual afterwards.”

“I don’t know! I want to, I try to tell him it’s okay to call me his brother, but I just… I can’t get the words out. And then I get embarrassed and frustrated with myself, so I get weird, and it’s associated with Benny so he gets the worst of it.”

“Uh-huh.” Dean gave Sam a long, hard look. “Figure this shit out. Preferably by Christmas. This is his first real Christmas in a long time, and I don’t want it ruined for him.”

“I’ll try.”

The next day, after dinner, Benny came out of the kitchen – and now Sam understood. Finally. He wasn’t sure fixing the awkward by changing it to a completely different awkward was what Dean had in mind, but at least this awkward, he could explain next time Dean felt the need to call him out.

For nearly twenty-four hours, Benny had been baking Christmas cookies. And as Sam bit into the gingerbread man he’d taken from Benny’s tray, he nearly told Benny to marry him. Not seriously, in the sense of complimenting his baking. What stopped him from actually saying it was realizing that he was kind of in love with Benny.

Dean was starting to glare at him by Christmas Eve, but Sam didn’t know what else he could do. He really thought he’d been better, but maybe he hadn’t.

They’d agreed not to do a big get-the-family-together-to-open-gifts deal. Just exchange presents as the opportunity came up. Except that Sam, Cas, and Dean had all joined together to get Benny a laptop. They’d let Dean be the one to actually give it to him, on the condition that he give Sam and Cas their due credit, because Sam and Cas had decided that instead of presents for each other they were going to the hospital together to play Santa and Elf for sick kids.

They were back in time for lunch. The afternoon passed quickly, Benny cooking dinner while the rest of them kept busy. During a brief lull, Dean grabbed Sam. “Here.”

“Just a sec.” Sam ran off and came back with a ridiculous bundle of newspaper. “Here’s yours.”

Dean ripped the paper off, laughing at the traditional oil and junk food and the ugliest necklace Sam could find. One of these years, Sam was going to be brave enough to give Dean back the amulet. It was not this year, though. This year, he needed all his courage to talk to Benny.

Dean, meanwhile, had also gone traditional. Skin mags and “girly hair products”. “Thanks, Dean.”

“Yeah. What’s going on with you and Benny?”

“Well, I figured out why I can’t let him call me brother. Downside… wait a minute.” Sam looked closer at the top magazine and burst into laughter. “Vampire porn? Where the hell did you even find this?”

“Oh thank God, you’ve finally figured it out. Whew. I spent hours wading through Twilight crap to find that. You owe me, bro. You gonna tell him?”

“Well since you’re all wise and perceptive now, why don’t you give me a hint, how’s he gonna take it?”

Dean shrugged. “No idea, little brother. Can’t read him like I can you. Never know if you don’t talk to him.”

“I’ll talk to him. Catch him tonight, probably.”

After dinner, Benny pretended to die of shock when Dean volunteered to handle cleaning up. Cas agreed readily when Dean asked for his help, and the two of them shooed out the others. Sam headed outside to watch the snow fall. Benny followed him. “Hey. Am I welcome, or would you prefer some time alone?”

“Was actually hoping you’d join me.” Sam smiled at Benny.

Benny came closer, and pulled a wrapped present out from under his jacket. “Sam, I had no idea what to get you, and Cas and Dean weren’t much help. So I kinda went for an old standby. Merry Christmas.”

Sam took the present and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful red scarf. Just from touching it, Sam could tell it was going to be super warm, too. “This is great, Benny. I love it.” He wrapped it loosely around his neck, and wadded up the paper to shove in a pocket.

“Yeah? Good.” Benny relaxed a little and turned his face to the snow.

“Listen, um, I know I’ve been acting weird for a while, and I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m regressing and I don’t want you around, I swear. It’s… kind of the opposite.”

“Sam, you’ve been fine. I know you don’t think of me like a brother, like Dean and Cas do, and that’s okay. Just don’t…” Benny caught the look on Sam’s face and stopped. “What?”

“Benny, I wanted to think of you as a brother. I tried. But I couldn’t ever make myself say it, and it took until recently to realize why. I love you.”

Benny stared at him for what felt like hours. “Say that again?”

“I love you?”

“Yeah. That.” Benny’s face lit up in a smile.

Sam laughed. “I love you. How many times are you gonna make me say it before you do something about it?”

Benny grabbed the ends of Sam’s new scarf and tugged Sam down to kiss him. “Didn’t think you were the sort of guy who goes for guys like me.”

“What, because you’re a dude or because you’re a vampire? Just ask Dean what my track record for dating has been. Vampire’s definitely not the weirdest.”

“Been workin’ so hard to prove myself to you, prove that while vampire’s accurate, monster ain’t. And every time you wouldn’t let me call you brother, it kinda felt like I’d failed. But you know what?” Benny kissed Sam again. “Think I like it better this way after all.”


	4. Day 4: Christmas Lights and Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Benny decorate a tree.
> 
> Once again, shoutout to my awesome beta under_a_grey_cloud!

Dean refused to come. Said it was pointless. Sure, he liked Christmas, but not freezing his butt off to put lights on a tree that they weren’t going to bring inside to put presents under.

Cas had initially planned to join them, but something came up in Heaven. Cas told them to go on without him and he’d help decorate the tree next year. Benny wanted to wait for Cas, but Sam shook his head. “I don’t believe there’s actually anything in Heaven he has to do right this second.”

“Then why’s…”

“So he wouldn’t be a third wheel on a date. Dean’s idea, I’d bet the Impala.”

Benny laughed in disbelief. “Decoratin’ a tree is a date now?”

“It’s supposed to snow. We’re going at sunset. I’m gonna be freezing by the time we’re done and wanting to snuggle. If Dean and Cas aren’t with us… how is this not a date?”

“Fair enough.” Benny picked up the box of lights. Sam followed with the box of ornaments.

The tree they’d chosen was not too far from the Bunker. They’d gone out the day before to clear debris and snow and to set up the small generator that would power the lights. Sam started wrapping the lights from the top of the tree, letting Benny take over about halfway down. Kneeling or sitting on the cold ground would bother Benny much less than Sam.

Benny had just wrapped the last branch with lights when it started to snow. Sam flipped the switch, and the bright colors against the dark tree made it magical. The two men stared at the tree for a moment, and then started hanging ornaments. For the most part, they used the traditional balls, although there were a few Santas and snowflakes and horns. Eventually, Sam’s hands got too cold for him to deal with, and he stopped to put on gloves and watch Benny finish up.

All that was left was the bright star they’d brought to the top. Benny handed it to Sam. “Tree’s too tall for me to do it.”

Sam reached up and attached the star. He stepped back to admire his work, and then wrapped his arms around Benny. “Christmas magic.”

It was fully dark now. The tree glowed brightly against the thin layer of snow that covered the ground. “Times like this, you can almost believe in miracles,” Benny said. “Miracles like a hunter in love with a vampire.”

“Miracles like a warm blanket and a pot of hot chocolate and two mugs arriving just when we’ve finished up.” Sam pointed to the generator.

Benny snorted. “Dean’s idea, Cas’s execution?”

“Probably.” Sam let go of Benny long enough to spread out the blanket to sit on while Benny poured each of them some hot chocolate. “Miracles like my brother actually approving of my vampire boyfriend.”

“You good to stay out here a little longer? Watch the snow fall on our tree?”

“Yeah, I’m good. This is great. Got you, got hot chocolate, let’s stay for a while.”


	5. Day 5: Reindeer and Snowmen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benny gets into the Christmas spirit after staying up late watching Christmas specials.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud)!

“Sam? What’s this?”

“Hey!” Sam smacked away the thing Dean had shoved in his face. He blinked a couple times. “Looks like a stuffed reindeer with a red nose. Why?”

Dean set it on Sam’s book. “Why is there a stuffed reindeer in the bunker?”

Sam picked it up and moved it aside. “Why are you assuming I’d know? I mean, obviously it’s here for Christmas. Are you accusing me of putting it wherever you found it? I didn’t.”

“Well, I didn’t bring it into the bunker, so what? You saying Cas did this? Crowley?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Cas is in Sioux Falls with Jody and the girls for Christmas. Crowley maybe, although he’d probably use a moose instead. Or a squirrel.”

“So…”

“So assuming you’re not just screwing with me here and _you_ brought it in, that leaves Benny. Unless you brought a girl back here and it’s hers?”

Dean crossed his arms and sat on a nearby table. “Benny.”

“Yeah. Where is he?” Sam stuck a card in his book to mark his place and set it aside.

“Since when am I your boyfriend’s keeper? Shouldn’t you be the one who has Benny GPS?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Or I could be asking because he might have told you if he was going out for something. He tries not to interrupt me when I’m reading.” Sam glared at his brother as he picked up the reindeer and set out to look for Benny.

Benny wasn’t anywhere in the bunker, but none of the cars were missing. Sam found his coat and gloves and headed out into the snow.

He found Benny by following the whistling. “Frosty the Snowman.” He couldn’t even pretend to be surprised when he found Benny lifting the top ball onto a snowman beside two that were already completed.

Benny stopped whistling when he saw Sam. “Heya Sam. How’s it goin’?”

“Good. What’s with the snowmen?”

Benny looked at the snowman he’d just built. “Don’t get a whole lotta snow in Louisiana, you know. Never had much chance to do this when I was human. As a vampirate I didn’t care much about Christmas, but when I was human, I loved the season. And there’s TV now! Watched a bunch of Christmas specials on YouTube last night.”

Sam grinned, chuckling at Benny’s enthusiasm. “Including Frosty, I take it?”

"Frosty, Rudolph, The Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas…” Benny picked up a sack of polished stones and started building a smile on the snowman’s face. “That dancing dog is really something.”

“Yep. So where’d you get the rocks?”

“Went to town for breakfast, picked up some Christmas stuff while I was there.”

“Like this?” Sam held up the reindeer. “Dean found it. He wasn’t happy about it, either.”

“Yeah. Thought it was cute. Haven’t put the batteries in to make the nose light up yet.” Benny dug through the bag and picked out two pale green rocks for eyes. “He give you a hard time about it?”

“Of course.” Sam walked over to the other two snowmen. One had bright blue stones for eyes, and the other, slightly larger than the first two, had mottled green and gold stone eyes. “Benny? Are you building Snow Hunters?”

“Yep. Not done with Snow Cas yet. Gotta build snow me, too. Still deciding if I wanna build Snow Crowley. Wasn’t going to, but I found the perfect stones for his eyes, so got them and I’ll decide when I’m done with the rest of us.”

Sam laughed and kissed Benny. “Text me when you’re done. I’ll drag Dean out and make him take some pictures to send Cas.”


	6. Day 6: Decorating and Sweaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bunker family goes to Sioux Falls to celebrate Christmas at the Wayward Daughters Academy.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud)!

One advantage to being a vampire was that you never got cold. This came with its own drawbacks, of course. Benny had been “volunteered” to decorate the roof of Jody’s house to put up decorations. Cas was helping, and to be honest, Benny didn’t want his job either, constantly up and down on the ladders. At least working with Cas meant that they could work at night. Both Benny and Cas could see perfectly well, it was more comfortable for Benny without having to worry about the sun, and neither minded the cold night air.

Jody had gone shopping with the girls. Claire and Cas went over the decorating plan, and now Benny was doing the grunt work. He couldn’t envision the pattern, not like Castiel could, and he didn’t much care. He just wanted to get this done.

Castiel turned when he heard the car coming up the road. Jody was home. Benny finished hooking up the lights he was working on and walked to the edge of the roof. “How much more we got, Cas?”

“You’re done up there. I have one string to finish. Go see if Jody and the girls need help.” Cas reached up to touch Benny’s shoulder, and Benny found himself standing in the drive.

Claire slammed on the brakes. She got out of the car. “Cas! I thought you liked Benny! I could’ve hit him!”

Cas didn’t look away from the lights. “But you didn’t. I had faith that you would be paying attention.”

Benny took the bags Jody handed him and headed inside, where he found Sam and Dean fighting over whether to put the angel or the star on top of the tree. “You two gotta be kidding. Cas’ll be in any minute; ask him.”

Sam rolled his eyes, but nodded. Dean laughed. “Fair enough.”

The door slammed closed, and Jody dropped a couple of bags on the couch. “It’s Christmas, and you boys missed out on a lot of traditions. So we’re doing this right.”

“Uh-oh.” Sam reached out to hug Benny, but drew back. “Wow, you’re cold.”

“Course I am.”

“Well, we’ve got a cure for that.” Jody reached into one of the bags and handed Benny a bright red sweater. It was covered with snowmen, orange bobbles sticking out for each one’s nose. “Put it on.”

Benny looked skeptically at the sweater, but pulled it on. It was even uglier on him than off. “Jody, you know I love you, but…”

Sam wrapped an arm around Benny and pulled him close. “You look ridiculous. It’s cute.”

“Thanks.”

Jody laughed and handed another sweater to Sam. His was dark green, decorated with poinsettias. Sam pulled it on with a grin. “Did you look for the ugliest sweaters you could find, Jody?”

“Yep! It’s tradition.” She tossed a pale blue be-penguined sweater to Dean and pulled on a brown one decorated to look like a reindeer’s head, with the antlers going down the sleeves.

“Why?”

Jody shrugged. “No idea. I just know it’s the one time of year I don’t have to fight Claire to wear a sweater.”

Claire stuck her tongue out at Jody as she and Cas came in. She dug out a navy blue sweater with cobwebs of snowflakes, and handed a black sweater with bells on it to Alex. “Where’s Cas’s?”

“Here.” Jody threw a white sweater to Claire, who pulled it over Cas’s head. Benny buried his face in Sam’s chest while he laughed at the lovely gossamer wings that flowed from Cas’s shoulders.

“Is this supposed to be an angel sweater?” Castiel asked as he stretched his arms out.

“Exactly.” Claire giggled.

“Speaking of which.” Dean held up the two tree toppers. “Which one should we use?”

Castiel looked critically at them. “The star. That angel looks far too much like Naomi. No one deserves to have Naomi staring at them throughout the holiday season.”


	7. Day 7: Stockings and Candy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benny learns of a Christmas tradition the boys never followed.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud)!

“How’s Santa gonna get into the Bunker?”

Sam looked up from his computer and stared at Benny. “What?”

“How’s Santa gonna get in here? No chimney, no windows, warded to all getout…” Benny sat in the chair across from Sam’s. “Where do you hang stockings? No fireplace, either. Thought humans were supposed to do all that.”

Sam grinned. “I don’t think the Men of Letters really cared much about Santa. If they did, it was to classify and monitor him to make sure he didn’t need to be hunted.”

“That’s awful! So you and Dean don’t hang stockings?”

“Are you kidding? We never had stockings to hang, even before Dean gave up trying to let me be the kind of normal kid who believes in Santa.” Sam’s face softened into a wistful look. “Would’ve been nice, but just never happened. Not for me, anyway. Maybe Dean believed in Santa, before…” His voice trailed off into the silence.

Christmas morning, Sam woke up expecting a normal day. He brushed his teeth, got dressed, and headed for the kitchen for coffee. Dean was already there, staring at the oven. “Sammy? Know anything about this?”

Four huge stockings hung over the oven, each labeled with a name. “Not exactly. Benny was asking me about stockings yesterday, and I told him we never had them as kids. So he’d be my guess.”

“Cas helped,” Benny said with a smile. “Merry Christmas, love.”

Dean grabbed his stocking and looked inside. “Is this all candy?”

“Yep. Yours is, anyway. The rest of us got real oranges in the bottom instead of a chocolate orange.” Benny got his stocking and unwrapped a giant chocolate Santa from his stocking. He bit the head off and grinned.


	8. Day 8: Gift Exchange and Eggnog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benny learns about eggnog.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud), who helped me get over a bad case of writer's block with this one!

“I don’t get it. Who drinks raw egg in their milk?” Benny stirred the eggnog, though.

Sam shrugged as he opened a bottle of rum. “The way Dean and I do it, it’s really more like drinking raw egg in your rum.”

“Not the point, cher.” Benny watched Sam as he emptied the bottle. “Who drinks raw egg in anything?”

“Lots of people. It’s a Christmas thing. I don’t know why, but it’s a tradition. Pretty sure eggnog was around back when you were human, so what’s your excuse for never having had it before? Dean and I are the ones who are supposed to not know Christmas traditions!”

Benny laughed softly. “Dunno why we didn’t. Just not a thing where I came from, I guess. I didn’t celebrate as a vampire and then in Purgatory I never even knew when it was Christmas. Cas can tell us all about the historical era Jesus was born in but doesn’t know anything about Santa that he didn’t learn from TV specials. Then there’s you and your brother, who might know the traditions but never actually followed them. Remind me why we’re tryin’ to do a traditional Christmas?”

“Because none of us have ever had one. Well, Dean did, but he doesn’t remember them. I’m told everyone deserves to have one, so… here we are! Having one. Complete with eggnog while we open presents.”

Benny shook his head and laughed. “If you say so, chief.”

Everyone headed to the library to drink eggnog and open presents. They got so busy with the eggnog, though, that they forgot the second part. Cas was rather impressed, although irritated about having to carry the Winchesters to bed.


	9. Day 9: Family and Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas dinner comes with a Christmas miracle.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud)!

There had never been this many people in the Bunker, not in Sam’s experience. Normally he liked the peace and quiet. However, he wasn’t going to complain about this.

It hadn’t been just him and Dean for a long time. They’d taken Cas in when he became human, and even after recovering his grace, Cas had chosen to stay. Then Benny had turned up, and they’d taken him in as well. Things had been a little awkward at first, but eventually, Benny’s sweetness and loyal nature had won Sam over, and then won Sam’s heart.

Jody had called Sam to invite the boys up to Sioux Falls for Christmas. They had politely declined due to some angel trouble, a guy with a bee up his bonnet looking for Cas, and it wasn’t safe for him to leave the Bunker. If Jody wanted to bring the girls down, though, they’d love to have them. Yes, of course Donna was welcome too.

Sam offered to help with the cooking, but Benny just laughed. “This is a good kitchen, but it’s not a four-butt kitchen. Already gonna be a little tight with Donna in there. You’d be more in the way than you’d be helpful. You wanna be useful, how about you pull together something resembling an actual table for eight?”

“Fair enough.” Sam found Jody and Alex and the three of them pulled library tables together. Jody suggested that they’d probably be better off setting up a buffet, so they pulled tables together for that as well.

Sam ducked into the kitchen to tell the cooks the plan and get plates and silverware. Benny caught his arm. “Anyone doing any kind of blessing on the meal?”

“Not that I know of. I’ll check with Jody and Cas, but you know Dean.” He kissed Benny’s cheek and took off.

Cas wasn’t interested, as he believed God wasn’t listening anyway. Jody and her girls were. Dean offered to handle the last-minute kitchen tasks so Benny and Donna could join in the blessing. Sam said a quick prayer, thanking God for the food and the fellowship and the second chances for just about everyone in the family. Everyone said Amen, and the room flooded with bright white light.

Cas came running out of the kitchen. “What just happened?”

“I don’t… wait.” Sam stared at the woman with the blonde curls and bloody nightgown. “Mom?”

She lunged at Sam, but Jody and Donna were quicker. Each grabbed one arm. “Settle down, no need to go hurting people at Christmas,” Donna said. “Sam, you know her?”

“Not… exactly.” Sam stared. “Benny, go get Dean?” Benny took off. “Mary Winchester?”

“Yes. Who’s asking?”

“Um…” Sam looked around at the shocked faces. “I’m Sam. Winchester. Your son.”

“My Sammy is a baby.”

“Not anymore. I, um… you’ve been dead for years. Like… over thirty years. It’s 2014.”

Benny came out with Dean, and Dean’s jaw dropped. “Mom.”

“So you’re Dean?”

“Yeah.” He looked at Sam. “What the hell’s going on?”

Sam held out his hands. “I have no idea. Cas? You felt something, didn’t you?”

“Yes. A surge of divine power. If I didn’t know that God had abandoned us, I might think he granted you a Christmas miracle.”

“Wow.” Dean came forward. “Mom, this is real. Listen. You’re Mary Winchester. You married a Marine named John Winchester over your parents’ objections. They died in 1973. In 1979, I came along, and Sam showed up in 1983. That November, the demon you made a deal with came to collect, and he killed you for trying to interfere. Dad did his best to raise me and Sam by himself. When we were sick, he’d make his famous kitchen sink stew with enough pepper to clear anyone’s sinuses. But when Sammy was sick and I was responsible for him, I’d make him tomato-rice soup, like you did for me when I was little. And when he was still little enough not to complain about my singing, I’d sing him ‘Hey Jude.’”

“Because that’s what I would sing to you.” Mary shook off Jody and Donna. “2014, you say? Hunters get paid a lot now?”

“No. Don’t get paid at all, really. This place is an abandoned base belonging to a group called the Men of Letters. Sam and I found it and took over.” Dean hugged his mom. “Welcome back.”

Benny cleared his throat. “You hungry? We were just about to have Christmas dinner, we’d love to have you join us.”

“Um, sure. Do you… does anyone have some clothes I can borrow? It doesn’t look like you’re big on formal, but I refuse to believe that manners have changed so thoroughly that a nightgown covered in blood is acceptable dress for Christmas dinner.”

“I got this.” Claire took off to get some clothes she’d brought for the visit.

Dean and Sam wrapped Mary up in a bear hug. “Don’t know how or why you’re here, Mom. But I’m glad you are,” Dean said when he finally let go.

“Me too,” Sam added. Welcome home.”


	10. Day 10: Snowstorms and Secret Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean, popular guy that he is, brought a bunch of his friends home with him for Christmas. Although they had other plans for the actual days, Dean set up a Secret Santa for the group. Sam was forced to participate, and he drew Benny.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud)!

Dean’s brilliant idea was not so brilliant, if you asked Sam. Dean had brought some friends from college home with him for the holidays, and Dean had suggested they do a Secret Santa for each other. John and Mary loved the idea. They didn’t give Sam much choice about participating. At least Sam was able to talk his friends Max and Alicia into joining, hoping that he’d draw someone he knew.

Naturally, the worst case scenario had happened. Sam had drawn Benny. He hated Benny. Benny hated him, too. It would’ve been better if he’d drawn Crowley. At least Crowley, he could explain why he hated. Crowley was creepy. Crowley was a jerk. He planned on going into business and then politics, and had the lack of morals and empathy to succeed.

With Benny, Sam couldn’t identify anything specific as wrong. He was nice enough, Dean loved the guy, he was smart and loyal and had a wicked sense of humor. He was studying to become a hematologist. He also hated Sam for no obvious reason.

What do you get for the guy who’s perfect except for the fact that he hates you?

Dean had it easy. He’d drawn Alicia. Her mom was a witch, and she was training Max and Alicia, so he could get her crystals or candles or something for spells. Dean wasn’t particularly helpful to Sam. “Dude, it’s Benny. Can’t go wrong with candy. Or, hey. You’re a nerd. You can probably find him a good history book. Or pirate book. Or vampire book. Just don’t get Twilight, that’s not a real vampire book.”

A book wasn’t actually a bad idea. Sam had gone to the local bookstore looking for a book about pirate history. Instead, he found a book about twins who were taken to separate pirate ships, one of which turned out to be vampire pirates instead. Vampirates. Sam grinned.

They gathered on the 23rd to exchange gifts. It was snowing, which made Sam anxious. The snow was supposed to get pretty bad, and what if the people who weren’t staying at the Winchesters’ house couldn’t get home? Dean told him to stop worrying, everything would be fine. Christmas magic.

Present exchange started with a bang, as Crowley opened his box to find flavored condoms. No one was surprised when Pamela took credit. Pamela’s gift was a charm bracelet. 

Alicia smiled at Pamela. “Those charms actually work. My mom made them. Most of them. I made a couple. Merry Christmas.” She opened her own gift – the candles from Dean.

Dean opened his present and started laughing. “Thanks, Gabe.” He held it up so everyone could see the ridiculous assortment of candy inside. Gabe’s box of candy was almost pure chocolate. Max shot him a wink. “Dean says you’re addicted to the stuff.”

“Addiction’s a bit strong. But good job.” Gabe popped two pieces into his mouth and threw one to Max. “Merry Christmas, hot stuff.”

Sam was starting to get nervous. Especially when Max’s present was obviously from Castiel – organic honey and angel feather charms. That left Crowley and Benny.

Castiel opened his present and stared at it. “Somehow, receiving a book about Purgatory seems an odd choice for Christmas.”

Crowley shrugged. “Maybe, but you’re a little odd, so it fits.”

Sam and Benny looked at each other. “Guess we’re exchangin’, huh? Merry Christmas, Sam.”

“Thanks. You too. You want to go first?”

“Sure.” Benny opened his present and started laughing. “Vampirates? I gotta read this.” He set it aside with a look of longing.

Sam opened a fancy Christmas box. Inside, he found some candy and a nice pair of gloves. When he tried the gloves on, he found a rolled-up envelope in one. “What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Sam opened it. “What the hell? This says I’ve won a scholarship?”

“Your brother never shuts up about how amazing you are. He stole an essay you wrote for history last year and has it up in the dorm with the big red A+. He made me read it, he’s that proud of his kid brother, and I thought you’d have a chance at a scholarship I got when I was in high school. Dean helped me fill out the paperwork. He was gonna give it to you, but when I drew you for Secret Santa, Dean convinced me to give it to you myself.” Benny grinned. “Sure glad it was a win. Wouldn’t have looked good, gettin’ a rejection for Christmas. And Dean paid the application fee, so I didn’t go over the spending limit.”

Sam jumped up and ran over to hug Benny. Benny was startled, but he hugged back quickly. “I thought you hated me. This is awesome. Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.”

Mary poked her head in. “Have any of you looked outside recently?”

Dean got up and went to the window. “Holy crap. Sammy, you were right.”

“Looks like everyone’s staying here tonight. Sam, come help me set up so everyone’s got a place to sleep. Dean, stay here with your guests, make sure they’re taken care of. Max, Alicia, I’ll call your mom and let her know.”

When Sam got back, he walked straight into a candy fight between Gabe, Max, and Dean. He went over to sit by Benny, who had found a quiet place to read, a window seat that was likely to be safe from flying Jolly Ranchers. “You really like that?”  
“Haven’t gotten too far in, but vampire and pirates? Two of my favorite things combined? There’s a good chance.” Benny picked up a scrap of wrapping paper to use as a bookmark. “Sam, I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass to you.”

“I started it, hating you just because you were Dean’s roommate at college and I missed him.”

“You were fourteen. You’d have grown out of it. Better than my excuse for not trying to make things better.”

“What’s that?”

“Apparently I got a little too interested in a story Dean was tellin’ about you, and he promised to kill me if he even suspected I was thinking about taking advantage of his baby brother. Figured I should play it safe – he had his serious face on.”

Sam snorted. “And you don’t mess with Dean’s serious face.”

“Anyway this last year he’s been talking to me about you all the time. Not sure if he’s tryin’ to trap me or if he’s changed his mind.”

“Maybe he decided I’m old enough now that it’s not taking advantage of me.”

“Could be. So, uh, you think there’s a chance you can forgive me for three years of being an ass?”

“Sure. Dude, you got me a scholarship for Christmas.” Sam scooted over and leaned against Benny, who picked up his book and started reading again while Sam watched the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Vampirates book is a real series. I have not read it, but I want to.


	11. Day 11: Baking and Christmas Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam bakes Christmas cookies. Benny and Dean "help".
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud)!

Cookies were not supposed to be this complicated.

The recipe sounded easy. Mix sugar and butter and eggs, add flour, decorate with M&Ms, put in oven, take out when done. Simple, right? How hard could it be? It’s not like Sam hadn’t been following spell recipes for years.

He’d forgotten to factor in the prankster brother and ex-pirate boyfriend. Oh, there were some cookies made. They were good, too. There was also flour all over the place, egg dripping from the ceiling, sugar in Sam’s hair – that one was Benny, who decided that Sam was so sweet he should be covered in sugar. There was dough everywhere from Benny and Dean’s food fight.

Benny had Christmas carols playing on Sam’s computer. He paused mid-throw when the computer started playing “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.” “You gotta be kidding me. This is a real song? Something someone actually wrote, recorded, put on the radio, and got enough people to buy that it’s still on the radio?”

“Yep! Dad told us a really cute story about it.” Sam ducked the glob of dough Dean flung at him. “Dean claims not to remember, but when he was three, they visited Dad’s mom for Christmas. She had the radio on and they played this song. Dad had drunk a bunch of eggnog… so Dean threw a fit when Dad said it was time to walk back to the hotel. He was terrified that he’d get run over by a reindeer.”

Benny laughed and threw a handful of M&Ms one by one at Dean. “Sounds like you were a cute kid.”

“I was adorable. Still am. Sammy’s just jealous that no one has any cute baby stories to tell about him. He was a weird-ass kid.”

Sam shook his head, and sugar fell from his hair into his face, as if he had the world’s worst recorded case of dandruff. Benny’s face lit up and he poured more sugar in Sam’s hair. “That was awesome! Do it again!”

“I am going to kill you.” Sam shook his head again, and whacked Benny’s hand with a spoon when he went for more. “There’s gonna be sugar all over the bed if you keep that up.”

“How’s that different from usual?”

“I’ll be sleeping in one of the empty rooms.”

Dean put his hands over his ears. He immediately pulled them away and both Sam and Benny cracked up when they realized Dean had just slapped flour into his ears. Sam didn’t regain control of himself until his timer dinged. He removed the tray of cookies and, predictably, Benny and Dean both had to “test” the latest batch.

Once the cookies were on the cooling rack, Sam looked around the kitchen. “You know what? I’m going to go take a shower. You two made this mess, you two can clean it up. There better be cookies left when I get back.”

“This don’t count as walking home, does it? You’re not reindeer bait?”

“I think the Bunker’s warded against Santa, actually, so he’s not gonna run me over. Dude creeped me out when I was a kid. He’s like a clown that only comes out at Christmas!”

Benny looked at him funny. “Something wrong with clowns?”

Dean cracked up. “Big bad hunter’s terrified of them. Has been since we were kids.”

Sam rolled his eyes, but then something occurred to him. “See? Now we’ve got an embarrassing childhood moment for me, too.”


	12. Day 12: Christmas and Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary and Benny surprise the Winchesters with a Christmas celebration.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta, [under_a_grey_cloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_a_grey_cloud). She is awesome and did amazing work with this! (And, apparently, likes Benny?)

Aside from the year Dean went to Hell, Sam had never cared about Christmas. Even then, it wasn’t Christmas he cared about. He didn’t expect this year to be any different, but there was one change he hadn’t considered. This year, he had a mom.

Dean woke him up before 6 am by slamming the heavy door open. “Sammy! C’mon, little brother! It’s Christmas!”

“Yeah. It’s Christmas. And?” Sam rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“And don’t you want to see what Santa brought?” Dean bounced on the balls of his feet. “Come on! Get up!”

“Dude. Why are you acting like you’re four?” Sam pulled himself up to sit.

Dean looked around. “Where’s Benny?”

“He goes hunting while I’m asleep. You know that. He usually makes it back before I wake up, but then, I’m usually not ambushed by a brother who got hit with some sort of Christmas Spirit curse.”

Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed Sam’s arm. “It’s not a curse. Quit thinking like a hunter for a second and come check out the tree.”

“Tree? Since when is there a tree?” Sam allowed Dean to drag him through the halls. The sooner Dean showed him whatever it was that had him acting so crazy, the sooner he could go back to sleep.

In the library, there was a giant Christmas tree, complete with ornaments on it and presents underneath. Sam, now wide awake, didn’t care about that. “Mom?”

Mary turned around and smiled. “Hi, Sam. Merry Christmas! I never got to celebrate a Christmas with you, and I think I’ve missed enough Christmases already.”

Sam stared in shock for a minute. “How did you do all this?”

“You might want to test your security. Your boyfriend is easily bribed with a couple bags of blood.”

“Anyone who knows me well enough to know that, well, they’re probably a friend. Only reason I took the bribe is because I couldn’t hunt if I was gonna help her set up.” Benny set down the cardboard box he’d been holding on the nearest table. “Your mom is great, but setting up a Christmas tree works a whole lot better with two people.”

Mary started pulling newspaper-wrapped bundles out of the box. Sam picked one up to unwrap. It turned out to be a carved wooden shepherd. 

Mary looked at it fondly. “My grandfather made this nativity scene for me when I was a little girl. I found it in one of John’s storage rooms. I think he must have taken it to the garage to repaint, because they’d gotten faded and peeling over the years.”

Sam unwrapped another figure and started laughing. This one was a man in a plaid shirt and jeans, carrying a knife. “There were hunters at the birth of Christ?”

“Gramps may have taken some creative liberties. My favorite is how he made Mary look like me.” Mary picked up one of the bundles and unwrapped it to reveal a Mary in the traditional blue garments, but with blonde curls. “After Dean was born, I was a little upset that the baby didn’t look like him. Joseph actually does look a little like John did back then.”

Dean came over and searched for the smallest one. “Darn. I was hoping the baby would look like Sammy.” He set the baby down and headed for the tree. “Can we start opening presents now?”

“I think I just found my four-year-old son.” Mary waved a hand. “Go on. Have fun. Knock yourselves out.”

Sam hugged Mary. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything for you. Thank you for all this.”

Most of the presents were practical – bullets, new clothes, first aid supplies. Some of them were funny. Dean got a stack of four boxed pies. 

Sam picked up a small box that was wrapped differently from the others. He opened it to find an old-fashioned gold ring. “Benny?”

“Used to be mine. Thought you might like it.”

Mary tossed a small box to Sam. “For you to give Benny, if you want. You’ve got my approval.”

“You guys didn’t plan this last night, did you.” Sam handed the box to Benny, who opened it and put on the ring. “How long have you been working on this?”

“Since your mom came over for Thanksgiving,” Benny admitted. “Merry Christmas, fiancé.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's been reading! I hope I didn't do any permanent damage with the fluffs.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are better than presents under the tree!


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